Pixel 2 Mix designs very colourful amigurumi's with inspiration from South America and the rest of the world.
They are not only fun to cuddle with but you can also play a fun peek-a-boo game with them!
The face behind Pixel 2 Mix -Homemade Crafts- is Marja Hermes. In this interview you will learn everything about Marja and Pixel 2 Mix.
Happy reading!
Tell me something about yourself.
The face behind Pixel 2 Mix -Homemade Crafts- is Marja Hermes. I come from Berkel en Rodenrijs a little village near Rotterdam, born (1967), raised and still living. For nearly 25 years, I worked at an Apple distributor (Five 4 U) as a senior buyer. Initially it was a small company (12 employees) and I did almost all the work, from answering the phone to complicated calculations to purchase products. Was really great fun!
This company kept getting bigger and bigger (about 3500 employees), it had to be reorganized and my position came to an end.
But sitting down and be depressive is nothing for me. Because I already had been crocheting for a number of years and also started designing myself, I decided to research whether my own company would be something for me. So that I can turn my hobby into my work and I also can use all my experiences from the past. One door closed, but another door was opened.
How long have you been crocheting? Did you learn to crochet by yourself?
It seems that I can already crochet since primary school. Recently I came across a project that I crocheted at that time, but I didn't even remember. It turned out that I could crochet all the basic stitches. My mother has always been an advanced crocheter and knitter, so I have always seen craftwork around me.
About 10 years ago I spent more time at home. I was browsing Pinterest and I saw such nice crocheted things and I thought: “I should be able to do this too!”. Then I started crocheting a lot of Granny's with all kinds of different stitches, so that I could at least do that as a start (they are still in the closet, by the way).
My first crocheted cuddly toy was Olivier * Christel Krukkert's Elephant. Watching YouTube, crochet, take it out again, crochet, take it out again and crochet again and put it together. I really thought afterwards: “Yeah, I can do this!”. I didn't tell anyone, I was working on it. I showed the elephant to my mom and she said, "Did you buy this or did YOU crochet it”, with a Big Smile?" I couldn't get a bigger compliment. So this is the start of my crochet adventure.
After I started crocheting a lot of stuffed animals from crochet patterns of others, I really got a lot of them in stock. So with my niece, called Marja Hermes as well, we start selling this crocheted toys on a market in Amsterdam.
Why did you choose Pixel 2 Mix -Homemade Crafts-?
Initially I wanted to use the name Maison d'Hermes, but many people advised me not to do that, because the fashion house “Hermès”, will not approve. While Hermes is really my own last name.
Hmmmm that's why I had to come up with something else. On a beach in Greece, I had a eureka moment. A crochet stitch is also a Pixel, which is used in the Mix. In short; Pixel 2 Mix -Homemade Crafts- was born.
Where do you get your inspiration from?My inspiration comes mainly from my travelling all around the world. The colorful markets, nature, wildlife, but certainly also street scenes are an inspiration for me. This, in combination with funny drawings, creates an idea in my mind. After that I take my crochet hook and something arises. Oh yeah also the cuddly toy has to make me smile.
Describe your workplace, what should not be missing there?Funny question, because I don't really have one workplace. My computer, printer and yarn are in the guest room. I take pictures in my garage, I have set up a photo studio there. The real crochet and designing actually happens in my lazy chair in front of the TV with all kinds of yarn around me next to crochet hooks, scissors, stitch markers, stuffing and a pen and paper within reach. In short, my entire house is dominated by ' Crocheting '.
If you had to choose a completely different profession, what would you like to do?
A few years ago I already made the switch from senior buyer to entrepreneur/designer of crochet patterns and crochet boxes. My past experiences are very useable and I am wonderfully my own boss. What I'm doing right now makes me very happy. I am finding out more and more that this is very important, partly due to my health.
What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I just finished 2 new designs for Pixel 2 Mix: Coco * The Little Chick with Bunny Hat and Cucu * The Rooster with Bunny Hat. You could crochet them for Easter, but they are always cute.
Further on I am also a designer of the team of ‘Crazy about Crochet’ (www.gekophaken.nl). They sell subscriptions for crochet patterns in Dutch. Each week members are offered a crochet pattern. Now I am working, inventing, designing, testing and developing a new crochet pattern for them. I won't tell you what it will be just yet.
The crochet patterns can be ordered via my Dutch website www.pixel2mix.nl and/or via my English website www.pixel2mix.com
My patterns are in Dutch and English.
Take a look at Pixel2Mix on Facebook: Pixel2Mix
Would you like to read an interview with another designer? Let me know and I'm going to see if I can ask this designer a few questions!
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